Art of protecting concrete piling



' material used Patented July 14, 1931 PATENT OFFICE RAYMOND G. OSBORNE, or LOS AnGELnscAmromvm ART OF PROTECTING CONCRETE FILING Application filed May 22,

This invention relates to the art of protecting concrete piling and the like, and has particular reference to the protection of concrete structural elements, such as piles that are subjected to the action of sea water and the air above-sea water. I

Without the necessity of entering intoany long discussion of the subject-I may state '-7 briefly-that long continued observation of m the failures of concrete piles in sea water has definitely established the fact that deterioration and failure occur. exclusively in those'parts of the pile above the lowest wa- 1 *1 ter level, that is, in those parts of the pile 1.) which are either alternately exposed to the actionof sea water and the action of air, or are continuously exposed to the action of air above the sea water In those parts of piles which are continuously submerged g there; is substantially little or'no deterioration. 1

Methods for the impregnation of such concrete piles with a protective impregnated i fluid are now known, see for instance my Patza ents, No. 1,383,749, issued July 5, 1921 and No. 1,457,598 issued June 5, 1923. lVhile piles may be effectually protected by such methods they have ordinarily been impregnated and protected as a whole throughout 3o their length. The apparatus for so protecting a pile of large diameter and length is necessarily large and costly both in the initial construction and in operation; and the and the work performed in protecting the under-water parts of the pile are in fact merewaste.

It is. a general object of this-invention to provide a method and apparatus and a system of procedure whereby any predeter- 0 mined part of the length of a pile or the like.

may be impregnated without the necessity of impregnating any other part of the pile; and

to accomplish all this in a pile of true monolithic structure, and without the necessity of forming the pile of two parts. Other objects, together with the corresponding accomplishments of this invention, willbe best understood from the following detailed description wherein I set forth preferred forms 00 of my method and procedure and also a 1928. Serial N0. 279,838.

simple form of apparatus whichmay be used,

reference for this purpose being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of a pile with the treating apparatus applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Let P designate in general a pile ofany suitable dimensions or proportions. The concrete body ofsuch a pile may, in my invention, be either of the same density throughout thelength of the pile, or the pile may have a lower portion P of comparatively dense concrete and an upper portion P of comparatively porous concrete. If the pile is thus made with a part length of porous concrete the length of that portion is pre determined so that its lower part-at its juncture with the more dense concretewill always be submerged. The dense lower part of the pile (which is not to be impregnated or treated) will thus always stand submerged, and it can be made of concrete of sufficient density as to substantially preclude any circulation of sea water through it and also as tobe of the maximum desired strength. Also in a case where the pile is made with parts of different densities the more porous parts may be provided with more reinforcing steel than the denserpart so as to make the whole pile of uniform strength through-, out its length. Thus in the drawings I indicateat R, reinforcements-that are common to both dense and porous parts of the concrete and indicate additional reinforcements R which are applied substantially to the more porous part .only. V

V The invention is no"; necessarily limited to use in connection with the pile constructed thus of differentiated concretes, but the invention makes it possible so to construct a monolithic pile and, in any case, to treat only the desired portions of the pile after it has been cast and cured and as will be hereinafter pointed out such a pile structure may aid in the practice of my method. However, the whole pile may, if desired, be made of concrete of sufficient porosity to allow impregnation and protection to any depth necesmatically a suitable and paratus for the application of my method.

sary in practice to prevent deterioration, and my method still provides for the exclusive impregnation and protection of that part of the pile which is subject to deterioration.

Furthermore, and in any case, my method and apparatus provide a relatively easy and handy manner of impregnating the pile, it not being necessary to carry on the method at a centralized plant. On the other hand, my method may be applied wherever the pile may be and may even be applied when the pile is in place.

The drawings show more or less diagramsimple form of ap- I use a cylindric casing 10 which has two cylindric end chambers '11 whose inner walls 12 are designed to fit the pile more or less closely. These cylindric end chambers 11 are closed except for inlet and outlet pipes 13 and 14 respectively through which hot or cold fluid, as hot or cold water, may be introduced and withdrawn; The central annular chamber 15, located between the two end chambers 11, is open at its inner periphery so that any fluid introduced to this central air chamber finds immediate access to the ores of the pile.

Communicating with central chamber 15 I provide a pipe 16 through which the impregnating fluid is introduced, and a pipe 17 through which hot air may be introduced. Any suitable impregnating or protective fluid can of course be used in my method, but I shall hereinafter refer to asphalt as the impregnating fluid, but without any implied limitation thereto.

The inner peripheral wall 12 of each air chamber 11 has an annular recess 20 into which some suitable gasket forming material may be introduced through pipes 21 and pas sages 22. I find it convenient to use asphalt also as the gasket formingmaterial, as asphalt has the qualities necessary or desirable for that purpose and the use of asphalt both as an impregnating material and as a gasket forming material simplifies the practice of the process.

The total length of the cylindric apparatus may be designed either so as to treat a rela-.

tively small length ofthe pile at one operation,'cr so as to treat the whole of the exposed part of the pile at a single operation. I describe the apparatus and method as if treating a relatively smaller part at a time, but from that description it will be readily understood how the whole desired length may be treated at once. here the entire length of the treated section is treated in one operation positive gaskets may be used thus eliminating the asphalt formed gaskets. Andthe apparatus may be constructed in various members and still have the features desirable for car.- rying on my method. The cylindric shell may be m d 't be slipp into pla r h piles,

end of the pile, or it may be made in halves secured together by flange bolts 25 as shown in Figure 2, so that it may be placed around the pile without the necessity of passing over the end. For ease in handling it may be equipped with any suitable kinds of lifting or grappling tackle and the various fluids may be fed to it through flexible hose, or steam jacketed hose, if desired, so as to increase its flexibility of use. Where preformed piles are lying ina yard, it is convenient to carry the treating apparatus to the atleast to some extent, and thus to minimize movement of the heavy piles. And in treating piles in place, it is convenient to have the apparatus more or less freely movable with respect to'the pumps and sources of supply of the various fluids.

Supposin now that a pile is to be impregnated, I app y the apparatus as indicated in Figure 1, first in such a position that one end of chamber 15 is approximately atthe point on the pile which has been determined as a point that will always be submerged. In a pile formed of differentiated concretes the lower end of chamber 15 will thus be placed approximately opposite the line or zone which separates the dense and porous concretes, such line or zone being indicated in the drawings at 30; V

- Then I first introduce to the annular chamhers 11 through inlet pipes 13,'a flow of cold water which passes out through pipes 14, and introduce either simultaneously, or in any suitable regulated time sequence found from experience to be best, a flow asphalt through the pipes 21 to the annular gasket chambers 20. 'The asphalt is referably introduced at such temperature that it will flow around the gasket chamber 20 to form a complete annulus filling the chamber and against the pile, but so that the cooling effect of the water will congeal it to prevent its leaking out at the ends of wall 12. 'A tight gasket having thus been formed around each end of chamber 15, the next step in the oper-. ation is to introduce hot air into chamber .15 under suflicient pressure to force the air into and through the pores of the pile to evaporate and carry away the moisture in those pores and thus to empty the pores for subsequent reception of impregnation fluid. If any substantial amount of moisture remains in the pores when the hot asphalt is introduced the water immediately evaporates and expands and the asphalt congeals and is prevented from properly filling the pores. The hot air under ressure enters the pile from all sides throughout the length of chamber 15 and then flows through the pores inwardly toward the center of the pile andlengthwise toward the upper end of the pile, much as is in te by he arro in Figure l- After h i cist r ha u een emo e from the pores in that section of the pile of heated liquid p the asphalt form which is being treated, then fluidasphalt at a suitable temperature, is introduced to chamber 15 under a suitable pressure. The asphalt then flows into and through the pores of the pile in the same general directions as the air previously flowed through the pores. Flowing inwardly and longitudinally in the general directions indicated by the arrows, the asphalt impregnates at least the outer or peripheral portions of the pile and flows longitudinally in those peripheral portions as indicated. The supply of asphalt under pressure is kept up until the portion of the pile enclosed by the treating apparatus is thoroughly impregnated, at least in its peripheral parts. During this flow of the asphalt, the dense concrete at the line or zone 30 forms a. dam or abutment, which prevents flowing longitudinally toward the bottom of the pile. The asphalt is thus forced to flow longitudinally toward the top of the pile only. (The pile may be either in vertical or horizontal position while being treated. I am, merely for convenience of technology, referring to upper and lower parts as if the pile were standing on end.) How far the asphalt may flow in that longitudinal direction during one treating opera tion is more or less immaterial. The cooling water which is still being circulated in chamber 11 in order to keep the gasket solid also has the effect of cooling the pile at that point, and therefore tends to cool the impregnating asphalt as it reaches the upper end of the treating apparatus. This cooling eitect, together with the cooling effect of the upper part of the pile may be sufficient entirely to congeal the asphalt the upper end of the apparatus; but if the asphalt is not thus congealed the supply of asphalt to chamber 15 may be stopped when asphalt begins to flow out of the concrete pores beyond the end of the apparatus.

' In any case, the cooling of the asphalt as it flows through the pile beyond or near the upper end of the apparatus-as it flows away from the chamber 15, which is filled with hot asphalt-creates a sufficient resistance to asphalt flow as to cause all of the pores below to be thoroughly impregnated. It the resistance thus created is sufficient the pile may be impregnated throughout, that is, the asphalt may uniformly reach the center of the pile. This, however, is not necessary for the protection of the pile.

It depends upon the length of chamber 15 whether a pile will be wholly treated at a single operation. If the chamber 15 is not long enough to treat the whole pile at a single operation, it may be moved longitudinally on the pile so as to treat the next adjacent length just as the first length was treated. For the purpose of removing the apparatus easily the gasket may be softened or melted in the pores when the asphalt has reached a point approximately at by turning hot water or hot air into the annular chamber 11. lVhen the treating apparat-us is thus moved upwardly to a point above the section previously treated, the'solidified asphalt in the pores of the impregnated length of pile then form the abutment which prevents the asphalt from fiowing downwardly through the pile and'forces it to flow upwardly only.

It the system is applied to a pile composed of concrete of uniform porosity, then of course there is no dam or barrier formed by the concrete at the point 30, but this barrier may be effectively formed of congealed or partiall congealed asphalt. For instance, if in Figure 1 we consider that the lower part of the pile is also porous, then the asphalt would tend to travel longitudinally and substantially equally in opposite directions through the pile. But by introducing more or colder cooling water in the lower cooling chamber 11, or by wetting the lower end of the pile, or both, the asphalt which tends to run toward the lower end of the pile maybe sufficiently congealed to form a dam preventing any further travel in that direction. Thus it will be seen that the dam or barrier may, for purposes otmy process, be either initially formed of concrete or may be formed of the asphalt itself.

The appended claims relate to the method of protecting concrete piling which has been herein described. The product itself, the protected concrete pile, is the specific subjectmatter oi a companion case, filed on even date herewith, Serial No. 279,839.

1 claim: V

1. The method of protecting a part-length of a concrete pile or the like, that includes closing the interstitial pores of the'pile approximately at the section chosen to limit the protected part from the unprotected part, thereby providing a barrier to fluid flow through the pores beyond one side of that section, and applying an impregnating fluid under pressure to the part-length to-be protected at'the opposite side of said section and thereby filling the interstitial pores at that side of the section.

2. The method of protecting a part-length of a concrete pile or the like, that includes first forming a portion oi the pile of relatively dense impervious concrete which terminates approximately at a section chosen to limit the protected part from the unprotected part, the dense impervious concrete providing a barrier to fluid flow beyond one side of said section, and applying an impregnating fluid under pressure to the part-length to be protected at the opposite side of said section and thereby filling the interstitial pores at that side of the section.

8. The method of protecting a part'length ot' a concrete pile or the like of which the. part to be protected is formed of fluid perproximately meable concrete, that includes applying a heated impregnating fluid under pressure to the part-length to be protected, said impregnating fluid being one that can be congealed by cooling, and cooling the impregnating fluid in the concrete at one end of the limited part-length and thereby -forming a dam in the interstitial pores of the concrete to limit the flow of impregnating fluid inthe concrete.

4 The method of protecting a part-length of a concrete pile or the like composed of porous concrete permeable to an impregnating fluid, that includes applying a heated impregnating fluid under pressure to a limited part-length the pile which is to be impregnated, said congealed by cooling, and cooling the imprege nating fluid in the concrete at both ends of the limited part-length and thereby limiting the longitudinal flow of the impregnating fluid lengthwise of the pile.

5, The method of protecting a part-length of a concrete pile or the like, that includes closing the-interstitial pores of the pile apat the section chosen to limit the protected part from the unprotected part, thereby providing a barrier to fluid flow through the pores beyond one side of that section, applying a dry heated gaseous fluid under pressure to the part-length to be protee-ted at the opposite side of said section and thereby drying out the interstitial pores of the concrete, and then applying an impregnating fluid underpressure to the part-length at the last mentioned side of said section and thereby filling the interstitial pores with the impregnating fluid.

6. The method of protecting a part-length of aconcrete pile or the like, that includes first forming a portion of the pile of relatively dense impervious concrete which terminates approximately at a section chosen to limit the protected part from the unprotected part, the dense impervious concrete providing a barrier to fluid. flow beyond one side of said section, applying a dry heated gaseous fluid under pressure to the part-length to be protected at the opposite side of said section and thereby forcing the gaseous fluid through the interstitial pores and crying them out, and then applying an impregnating fluid under pressure to the part length to be protected at the last mentioned side 01" said section and thereby filling the interstitial pores at that r side of the section.

'4'. The method of protecting a part-length of a concrete pile or the like of which the part to be protected is formed of fluid permeable concrete, that includes applying a heated dry gaseous fluid to the partlength to be protected and thereby forcing said gaseous fluid through the interstitial spaces of the concrete and drying out the said spaces, then applying a heated impregnating fluid under pressure to the part-length to be protected, said imfluid being one that can he misses pr snat ns fluid being n tha can be on: sealed y ng, nd c oling t mp s nating fluid in the concrete at one end of the lim t d p -l ngt an the y ming a dam in the interstitial pores ofthe concrete to limit the flou of impregnating fluid in the concrete.

8. Apparatus for the method herein described, comprising an annular body having a en al amb r op n face, means for introducing fluids to said chamber, and said body also having two closed annular chambers one at each end of the first mentioned chamber, and means for introducing cooling or heating fluid to said end annular chambers.

9, Apparatus for the method herein described, comprising an annular body having a central chamber open at its inner annular face, means for introducing fluids to said chamber, and said body also having two closed annular chambers one at eachend of the-first mentioned chamber, means for introducing cooling or heating fluid to said end annular chambers, the inner all of each end chamber having an annular gasket holding recess, and means for introducing a gasket forming substance to said recesses.

10, Apparatus of the character described comp ising an annular body adapted to be positioned about a concrete pile or the like, saidbody forming an annular closed chamber about the pile and said pile being exposed to the chamber, means for sealing said chamber at its ends adjacent the pile to prevent fluid leakage from the chamber, and means for introducing fluid to the chamber said body intermediate the sealed ends of the chamber.

11. Apparatus of the character described comprising an annular body adapted to be positioned about a concrete pile or'the like, said body forming an annular closed chamber about the pile and said pile being exposed to the chamber, means for introducing fluids to the chamber, an annulus at each end of said chamber and having a gasket holding recess adjacent said pile, and means fOr introducing a gasket forming substance to said access to prevent fluid leakage from the cham- In itness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name -this 2d day of May, 1928,

RAYMOND G. OSBORNE.

at its inner annularth ough 

